Decrease in Foreclosures Boosts Twin Cities Housing Market

Brace Helgeson

Sunday, January 18th, 2015Jan. 18th, 2015

In 2014 home sales in the Twin Cities metro region dropped
when compared to the previous year, however the economy was rebounding and we
saw fewer foreclosures last year. With the foreclosure crisis in the
Twin Cities slowly nearing end home prices soared last year.

Home sales dropped by close to 7 percent in 2014 when
compared to 2013. However, home sales in 2014 marked the second-highest numbers
we have seen since 2005, as reported by the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area
Association of Realtors.

Home sales may have dropped in 2014 as we saw fewer
foreclosures, but the median price of homes increased by 7.2 percent, with a
median price of $205,739. This is the highest median price we have seen for
homes in the Twin Cities in nearly seven years.

Many experts agree that last year was the healthiest housing
market we have seen since the housing crash that hit in 2008. That can be
attributed to the number of the foreclosures dropping to near what we consider
normal levels, homes sold more quickly, and buyers were provided with more
housing availability to choose from.Delinquency rates on mortgages in the Twin Cities metro area dropped to
slightly under 3 percent, per the recent Core Logic report. The drop in foreclosures has done wonders to
strengthen the housing market in the Twin Cities. Last year there were only
16.5 percent of sales that attributed to foreclosures or short sales, quite a
drop from the 26.3 percent we saw in 2012, and an even larger drop from the
39.7 percent in 2011. With fewer foreclosures investors have left the metro
area and have been replaced by move-up buyers.

"The market is returning to more solid footing,” said Tom
Weiner, president of the St. Paul Area Association of Realtors.

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